Enchanting Tropical Isle - Langkawi

Langkawi, off the coast of Malaysia, is an archipelago of 104 islands with Langkawi itself being the biggest island.   It has many natural and geographical features, among them gorgeous beaches, limestone cliffs and tropical jungle, making it a great place to explore.   It has been developed into a resort island by the Malaysian government which is struggling to maintain its natural environment.  

We spent three nights on one of the island resorts, Berjaya, but took time out to get an overview of the island, thanks to my friend Patrick and his family who live on the island.  We also spent a very interesting day on a mangrove tour, one of the highlights of our trip.  To see what else is available on Langkawi, check out Langkawi Link on Facebook.

Tanjung Rhu Beach - gorgeous!

Langkawi has many mountains, including Gunung Mat Chincang, supposedly the oldest mountain in South East Asia.  An amazing cable car ride (a double!) took us to the top of Gunung Mat Chincang, also the  second highest mountain on Langkawi, where we got a panoramic view of one side of the island and a hazy glimpse of the other islands in the archipelago (below).

View of more mountains from the top of Gunung Mat Chincang

Sunrise on the beach at Berjaya resort

View of the mountains from the resort beach

 

View from the top of Gunung Raya, the highest mountain on Langkawi at 893 metres.  It is reachable via a mountain road with a climbable tower at the top.  I would like to be able to paint a watercolour of these lovely mountain ranges!  On the other side, a panoramic view of the town below.

Sunset on the beach at Cenang

Icarus flying too close to the sun...

a glorious sunset...

Then dinner at the local seafood restaurant.  Needless to say, there are lots of seafood on Langkawi and Chinese restaurants complete with fish tanks are the choice.  One interesting fact I learned is that it's against the law for restaurants to serve pork to a Malay.  Wow!

Next post: Mangrove tour in Langkawi